Welcome to the Second Year Bulletin!
Welcome back! I hope you all had a lovely half term break and have returned refreshed for the weeks ahead.
MERIT MILESTONES
Congratulations to all of the following boys who have reached a merit milestone:
Jack S (2H) – 10
Oliver J (2H) – 10
Finlay F (2H) – 10
Ben Z (2H) – 10
Ethan F (2W) – 10
Aran TM (2W) – 10
Conrad K (2W) – 10
Ayoub K (2W) – 10
Leo Z (2W) – 10
Mohamed-Ali O (2W) – 10
James D (2W) – 20
Eshaan A (2H) – 20
Sam S (2H) – 20
Findlay B (2H) – 20
Aaron H (2H) – 20
Rory P (2H) – 30
Vishal S (2W) – 30
Vishal S (2W) – 40
Henry A (2B) – 40
James A (2H) – 40
Oscar T (2H) – 40
TRIPS
There were Second Year trips to both France and Germany over the half term break. Let’s begin by hearing from Zac N (2B) and Matthew I (2B) about their time in Provence. I’m sure the weather must have been lovely, right boys…?
Recently, 22 students (11 from 2B and 11 from 2H) went on a School trip to Provence, France. It was a five day Sport and Culture trip, and I can safely say we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time, however we managed to do most of our planned activities without fail. On Day One, as it was pouring, we watched a presentation and identified different pieces of wood that remarkably resembled a variety of animals. In the evening, we watched a film called Les Choristes (in French, ‘bien sûr’).
Next, we had a very activity-packed day as we visited a small town named Gréoux-les-Bains and had free time to buy souvenirs and sweet treats. After lunch, a very exciting and possibly scary adventure course awaited us. With a variety of difficulties for different capabilities, we swung from the trees, balanced precariously on thin wires, and zoomed down zip wires on bikes.
On the third day, Halloween, we saw the history and evolution of Man in a French museum. Afterwards, we made some of our own decorated clay pots and necklaces made of shells and rocks, which we could take home. In the evening, we had Halloween spooks in the masks and scary costumes we had brought with us.
On Thursday we went to Marseille and saw the Velodrome Stadium from the perfect viewpoint of Notre Dame de la Garde, a cathedral on a hill. We could look over Marseille as if it was a Monopoly board. Afterwards, we visited the towns Cassis and Aix-en-Provence respectively. We could explore both of these cities and really get to know the French culture.
On Friday, we canoed in the largest reservoir of drinking water in France. Named Le Gorge du Verdon, we paddled through the gorge and back again. Flashing back to Wednesday, in this gorge, pre-historic bones were found, and then kept in the museum. Later, in the afternoon, we took a boat ride to Presque-Isle du Babouin (Almost-Island of the Baboon). It gets its name from the fact that it is almost an island, it juts out and is slightly connected to the mainland. The Baboon part originated when people saw how peaceful it looked and imagined a baboon just sitting there, watching the water. Lastly, we had our flight back to London Heathrow.
Overall, it was an amazing trip, and we learnt lots of French and explored the French culture and way of life. We tried all the local dishes, such as ratatouille on chicken, goats cheese on toast, and much more.
Thank you boys for such a comprehensive report, it sounds like a great trip. I’m looking forward to featuring a report on 2P’s experience in Berlin in next week’s edition.
SPORT
Congratulations to all who took part in the Second Year Cross Country before half term. It is a challenging but rewarding event for all. Here are the first ten finishers:
Rex B (2L)
Aaron M (2L)
Felix V (2J)
Ethan F (2W)
Theo W (2B)
Meher B (2J)
Hayden C (2H)
Sam S (2H)
Paddy H (2H)
Josh H (2W)
Now let’s her from Aaron M (2L) on the U13A Football Team’s progress in the ESFA Cup:
The team got out of the minibus ready to go for this important cup game. Thanks to Mr Trivedi, we had a good warm up before the match started. The game kicked off with St George Abbot keeping the ball well. When Hampton got the ball we used it positively and put many crosses in on the right side. Our first goal came from a quick attack when Chibby N (2H) dribbled through the middle and with only the keeper to beat he took it round him and slotted into the goal. Hayden C (2H) kept delivering crosses in and Chibby got on the end of one and passed it into the net. Chibby got his third before half time for another cross making it 3-0. This was Chibby’s third hat-trick this season.
We started the second half confident in our lead and determined not to let George Abbot back into the match. George Abbot had two dangerous strikers but they couldn’t get through our resolute defence. About half way through the second half our fourth goal came from a layoff and then a low, powerful shot by Aaron. It then was end to end with the opposition having their most chances of the match. When it was ten minutes to go Conrad bravely came out of his goal to intercept the through ball but he got clattered by their striker. Hampton got another goal before the end, with Patrick H (2H) taking a long range shot that the keeper spilt backwards into his own net.
It was a good finish to the half term with a good performance and yet another clean sheet.
Thank you to Mr Trivedi and Mr Burke for their coaching and guidance.
Hampton win 5-0 and progress to the next round.
Well done, boys! Good luck in the rest of the competition.
OUTSIDE SCHOOL
Lastly, let’s rev ourselves up for a special report from Ishaan D (2B):
Given my deep fascination with cars and my hobby of constructing Lego models, it seems, then, no surprise that I was very eager to see the 1:1, fully-functioning Technic model of the Bugatti Chiron, which was going to be at Westfield Stratford City on Saturday, as part of its tour of London.
Unveiled at the Grand Prix F1 event at Monza, it is built of over one million Technic pieces taking more than 13,000 work-hours. I found out that it contains 2,304 Lego Functions motors, which output 5.3bhp and 92Nm, which can power it to a speed of around 12km/h. It may seem a small number, but, considering that the total weight of the car is 1.5 tonnes, it is definitely an impressive feat. I could also see that it had fully-working headlights, brakelights and indicators, as well as a working spoiler and, despite lacking the quad-turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 engine (though containing a model which has pistons that fire with the crankshaft, which actually turns with the wheels), sound equipment still actually plays the engine noise.
Overall, I enjoyed the unique experience, and found it very educative and extremely interesting; in fact, it made my own functioning 1:8 version, which took me just over three days to build, seem relatively simple!
TRIVIA & JOKES
Well done to everyone who deduced that you could spell ‘Aucutt’ and ‘Byrne’ from last week’s anagram. Two more teachers to find this week, scrambled up in here:
WANNA GROOVE D ?
Good luck! Merits for the first correct answers as always.
Joke of the Week:
And finally…
A burglar stole all my lamps.
I know I should be upset, but I’m delighted.
Thanks to James D (2W) for that one.
Have a great weekend!
Back to All Blogs
